Foundry Group, True Ventures and Key Members of the MakerBot
Leadership Team Join Round

SEATTLE — (BUSINESS WIRE) — May 20, 2015 —
Glowforge announced a $9 million Series A funding round to bring their
3D Laser Printer to market this year. The round was led by Foundry Group
and True Ventures, with participation from Bre Pettis—cofounder and
former CEO of MakerBot—and Jenny Lawton—former CEO of MakerBot.

Glowforge’s 3D laser printer packages the experience and precision of
woodworkers, paper crafters, leatherworkers, and multimedia artisans
into a single tool. By re-inventing laser cutter/engraver technology
with cloud software and smartphone sensors, creators can go directly
from design to small-scale production with the push of a button. The
funding goes to growing the team as they hire mechanical, electrical and
software engineers in their century-old building in south Seattle.

“For years, people have been talking about putting factories in the
home. That’s silly. I want a factory in my home like I want a McDonalds
in my kitchen. With Glowforge, we’re reinventing what it means to be
‘homemade’: custom, high-quality products produced quickly and
inexpensively with your Glowforge,” said Dan Shapiro, CEO and cofounder,
Glowforge. “The first time I used a laser it was to prototype Robot
Turtles, the best-selling board game in Kickstarter history. The
technology was powerful, but atrociously difficult to use. The Glowforge
is so simple that my kids dash over to make a toy and are playing with
the results minutes later. Yet it’s powerful and precise enough that
designers, engineers, and architects can create finished products that
are higher-quality than what you’d find in a store.”

Glowforge allows designers to create one-of-a-kind objects, such as
custom leather satchels, unique jewelry, distinctive hardwood light
fixtures, and decorative smartphone engravings. The Glowforge is
compatible with design software like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop,
Inkscape, and Autocad. Unlike 3D printers that slowly build up objects
out of plastic strands, the Glowforge uses a laser to quickly cut and
etch products out of durable and beautiful materials such as wood,
leather, foam, paper, and fabric.

“I’ve been investing in hardware companies for twenty years, from
Harmonix to Makerbot to Fitbit. Now we’re at a crossroads between the
growth of Etsy, the maker movement, and the 3D printing industry. It’s
clear the world is ready for a device that can create beautiful,
homemade products at the push of a button,” said Brad Feld, Foundry
Group. “I’m excited to back a team of executives with a history of
founding six companies worth hundreds of millions of dollars across both
hardware and software.”

For creative professionals that struggle to meet increased demand for
their customized products, Glowforge provides an affordable way to scale
their business. For the artist or maker, Glowforge provides a lightning
fast, precise, and versatile tool that is easy to use.

Glowforge’s 3D laser printer is expected to be available for purchase in
late 2015 for less than $2,500. Keep up to date on the company’s
progress via the
Glowforge
blog.

About Glowforge

Glowforge is a Seattle-based startup that's creating the first 3D laser
printer. Glowforge's wireless desktop system makes it simple for
designers and engineers to take products directly from digital design to
reality. Unlike 3D printers that build objects out of plastic, Glowforge
uses lasers to print products out of durable and beautiful materials
like wood, leather, foam, paper and fabric. Leveraging advanced software
stored in the cloud instead of expensive hardware, Glowforge is both
affordable and easy to use. For more information, please visit
http://glowforge.com/.